Buddhas and ordinary beings are not two. Enlightenment and delusion are not different paths.

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

Insight knowledge comes from direct experience, not from intellectual understanding.

To see directly is to be free of hope and fear. Hope and fear are like a cloud before the sun.

You are the master of your own mind. You can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

Meditation is the ultimate mobile device; you can use it anywhere, anytime, unobtrusively.

Compassion is not just about being kind to others. It's about being kind to ourselves as well.

When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point.

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things.

The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.

Maintain the state of undistractedness and distractions will fly away.

Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes.

The contradiction so puzzling to the ordinary way of thinking comes from the fact that we have to use language to communicate our inner experience, which in its very nature transcends linguistics.

Faith is the firm foundation, diligence the supporting pillar, and wisdom the roof of the house of practice.

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

The true purpose of Zen is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes.

The root of all suffering is ignorance. The antidote to ignorance is wisdom that realizes emptiness.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.

Our task is to learn to see clearly what is happening in each moment, rather than be lost in our reactions and judgments.

Hasten slowly and you will soon arrive.

The ultimate revolution is the spiritual revolution, where we learn to see reality as it truly is.

The practitioner and practice are like fire and wood. The more you practice, the more you burn.

Happiness is found in the simplest of things. It is not in the things you own, but in the love you share.

Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back.

The mind is like a well-forged sword - it adapts to all situations.

The nature of the mind is like the sky, and our thoughts, emotions, and experiences are like clouds passing through it.

The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities.

No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.

Real freedom is not about controlling our experience, but about being free within our experience.

The practice of metta begins with oneself, for only when we have developed loving-kindness towards ourselves can we truly offer it to others.

Altruism is not a luxury, it is a necessity for the survival of humanity.